Race Bank OFTO
OperationalOffshore GridGB565 MW220 kV89.1 km2018
Basic information
9 fieldsAlso Known As
Race Bank Offshore Transmission Owner · Race Bank transmission assets · Race Bank OFTO TR5 · Diamond Transmission Partners Race Bank OFTO · ROW01 Transmission Assets
Status
operational
Capacity
565 MW
Project Company
Type
offshore grid
Transmission Model
Developer Build & Transfer
Expected Life
25 years
Website
Supply Chain (7)
Project Timeline (23)
11 Oct 2019Stake Transaction
On 11 October 2019, Diamond Transmission Partners, a consortium of HICL Infrastructure PLC and Diamond Transmission Corporation Limited (a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary), completed the acquisition of the offshore transmission assets associated with the Race Bank Windfarm, becoming the licensed owner of the Race Bank OFTO grid connection off the coast of Norfolk. Under Ofgem’s OFTO Tender Round 5 regime, Diamond Transmission Partners RB Limited—owned 51% by Mitsubishi Corporation and 49% by HICL—takes ownership of the operational transmission asset from Race Bank Wind Farm Limited, pays the Final Transfer Value of approximately £472.46 million determined by Ofgem, and receives availability-based regulated revenues over a 20‑year period for operating the 220 kV offshore transmission system.
Diamond Transmission Partners (consortium of HICL Infrastructure PLC and Diamond Transmission Corporation Limited) acquired from Race Bank Wind Farm Ltd (100%)
10 Oct 2019Revenue Secured
Ofgem completed its cost assessment for the Race Bank offshore transmission assets and set the Final Transfer Value at £472.46 million, equal to the assessed economic and efficient costs of developing and constructing the assets. This Final Transfer Value, to be paid by the incoming OFTO to the developer, will be reflected in the regulated revenue stream defined in the offshore electricity transmission licence granted for the Race Bank OFTO.
1 Feb 2018Commercial Operations Full Power
Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm reached full power on 1 February 2018. Orsted announced that following successful completion of the 240-hour acceptance tests of all 91 Siemens Gamesa 6 MW wind turbines and the 200-hour test of the full wind farm, the 573 MW project was generating at full capacity. The offshore transmission system enabled power export from the North Norfolk coast site to the onshore grid.
Nov 2017Regulatory Other
Following further information from the developer and additional analysis, Ofgem determined an Indicative Transfer Value of £500.8 million for the Race Bank offshore transmission assets in November 2017. This updated cost estimate was provided to bidders at the Enhanced Pre‑Qualification stage and used as the assumed transfer value for submissions at the Invitation to Tender stage of the TR5 OFTO process.
6 Sept 2017Cable Installation Complete
Jan De Nul Group announced that, after two installation campaigns in 2016 and 2017, it had completed the installation and burial of two 70 km export cables and a 6 km interconnector linking the two offshore substations for DONG Energy’s Race Bank wind farm in the UK. This matches the described scope of the Race Bank OFTO offshore export and interlink cables, confirming completion of offshore cable installation.
2 Mar 2017Procurement Notice
On 2 March 2017, Ofgem advanced the Race Bank offshore transmission project through Tender Round 5 by shortlisting five bidding groups—Balfour Beatty Investments, Equitix, Diamond Transmission Partners, Transmission Capital Partners and Triton Transmission—to compete at the Invitation to Tender stage, under a regime offering each eventual OFTO a 20‑year regulated revenue stream for the transmission assets.
2016Offshore Construction Start
Offshore construction for the Race Bank project, including installation of the offshore transmission assets such as the two offshore substations and associated subsea export and interlink cables that form the Race Bank OFTO, began in 2016. This phase followed earlier design and onshore works and initiated the main offshore build-out of the transmission system in the North Sea off the North Norfolk and Lincolnshire coasts.
Sept 2016Regulatory Other
Ofgem calculated and published an Initial Transfer Value of £530.4 million for the Race Bank offshore transmission assets, based on Race Bank Wind Farm Limited’s early cost estimates, and communicated this to the developer via the preliminary information memorandum in September 2016. This Initial Transfer Value represented the first estimate of the economic and efficient costs of developing and constructing the Race Bank transmission assets for use in the TR5 OFTO tender.
30 Sept 2016Onshore Cable Installation Complete
By 30 September 2016, installation of the onshore export cables for the Race Bank OFTO was complete and all cables had been high-voltage tested. The two 220 kV onshore export cable systems, running approximately 11.6 km from the onshore transition joint bays near the Sutton Bridge landfall to the ROW01 onshore substation at Walpole, were fully installed and formed the onshore link between the offshore export cables and the National Grid connection at Walpole.
Apr 2016Cable Installation Start
Export cable installation works at Race Bank commenced in April 2016, with landfall connection works at Sutton Bridge linking the offshore cable route to the onshore grid. Jan De Nul installed the export cables supplied by NKT, connecting the two offshore substations to the onshore grid.